Cycling: Nicole Cooke out to prove she’s still Olympics golden girl

THERE are comebacks... and there are comebacks.

And it is fair to say that if Nicole Cooke were to retain her Olympic road race title on the streets of London tomorrow, her efforts would eclipse anything Frank Sinatra managed.

Cooke’s quest for a second Games gold will start at noon tomorrow on The Mall and roughly four hours after we will discover whether she has pulled off one of the wonderful Welsh Olympic stories.

The 29-year-old is unfazed by the challenge.

“It’s a wonderful buzz to think about what’s in store,” she said. “There are no nerves, just total excitement.

“There is personal pressure and expectation, but London is a huge opportunity and I’m just going to give it my best.

“It’s a case of focusing on the big Olympics picture and making sure everything is right for the big day.”

Winning a first British gold in Beijing will probably remain Cooke’s highlight of a career in which she has won every major race.

But retaining the title with a second successive Olympic crown would prove the most extraordinary and unexpected.

Because it has hardly been plain sailing for the Welsh wonder since her career-defining day in China four years ago.

Few Olympic fans will forget the memorable manner in which Cooke started the Beijing GB gold rush in 2008.

Following a moment of uncertainty, she emerged from the murky mist on the Great Wall of China to realise her career ambition of becoming Olympic champion.

The memories of the hours riding in the Vale of Glamorgan were reflected in the moment of victory as the Wick wonder shrieked in delight after crossing the finishing line.

The raw elation of Cooke leaning forward over her bike repeatedly screaming and punching the air provided one of the enduring images of those Games.

Aged 25, Cooke had just made history by becoming the first Welsh woman to win an individual Olympic gold.

She seemed to have the world at her feet with Britain at the start of a cycling revolution.

But while the British men have revelled following the emergence of Team Sky and exceptional exploits from the brilliant Bradley Wiggins, the magical Mark Cavendish and our own Geraint Thomas, Nicole has disappeared from view.

This is partly because of the lack of attention on women’s road race cycling, despiteCooke’s 2008 triumph.

The Welsh ace flew the flag for British road racing around the world single-handedly before the emergence of Wiggins, Cavendish and Thomas.

Her ability, willpower, willingness to push her body to the limit and insatiable appetite to devour the opposition was recognised throughout the cycling world.

Here is a rider who won the women’s equivalent of the Tour de France in successive years in 2006 and 2007 and the gruelling and prestigious Tour of Italy in 2004.

But she hardly received any of the plaudits lauded on the wonderful Wiggins following his historic Tour de France triumph last weekend.

Cooke’s form has also declined to the extent which means she is no longer guaranteed her previous status as Britain’s leading lady.

So what has gone wrong? British cycling guru Shane Sutton accused Cooke of not dealing with success, but there has been precious little in the last three years.

There was one more high after Beijing, a major one, when Cooke supplemented the world title to her Olympic crown in the space of six weeks to become the first female rider to hold the two global crowns.

But since winning her last and 10th consecutive British title in Abergavenny in 2009, Cooke has had an alarming sequence of results.

A failed venture into running her own team was an unwelcome side issue, while Cooke has failed to replicate her podium performances on the world stage, although she has finished fourth in the last two World Championships.

Cooke should have won in Melbourne in 2010 but finished behind Italian Gioria Bronzini, who repeated her victory in Copenhagen last year.

It was this race and Cooke’s part in it, that has caused the most controversy and demonstrated a division in the team, an unacceptable trait in cycling.

Young pretender Lizzie Armitstead was the nominated leader in Denmark but could only finish seventh.

What followed was a very public spat with Cooke, who was accused of riding for herself and disobeying team orders.

The pair have insisted the incident and subsequent fall-out is behind them.

There were even doubts whether she would make the Olympic squad before she was chosen next to Armitstead, Emma Pooley, who helped her to Olympic victory four years ago, and the inexperienced Lucy Martin.

This resulted in the omission of the in-form Sharon Laws, an AA Drink-leontien.nl team-mate of Armitstead, Pooley and Martin.

Laws proved a point when she won the British Championships in north Yorkshire with Cooke finishing down in sixth.

“I haven’t had my best form and didn’t have a great spring,” admitted Cooke. “But I have gradually been building up and everything is coming together very well.”

With Great Britain boasting one of the only starting quartets in the 67-strong field, Cooke believes a united team effort can produce a gold medal.

“We are going to be ready to produce one of the best performances GB has done in an Olympics,” said Cooke.

“We are in a strong position to have four riders, while most of the other countries have three and we need to make the most of our numerical advantage.”

But depending on how the race unfolds, that could mean Armitstead is given that chance at gold, while Cooke stands aside.

You wonder how that sits with someone who has been as successful as Cooke.

Great Britain coach Chris Newton insists there won’t be a team leader but Armitstead is regarded as the better option if it comes down to a sprint, although there are doubts she is quick enough. Cooke is happy to let the race unfold.

“Every race I try to win. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t race,” continued Cooke. “No matter what race I do because I always want to give my best. You don’t know how a race is going to unfold.

“We are not going to be revealing our tactics. What’s clear is the only way we are going to win it is by riding for and supporting each other. We want the best for GB because it’s going to be a team performance that wins the gold.”

But Cooke admitted only one gold medal being awarded for a team sport was hard to take.

“Only one rider will take the medal home and it’s such a hard thing because not every rider in the team might be able to win on that day,” she added.

“The leader has the responsibility to finish off the ride the team-mates have put in.

“There ought to be recognition team medals for the whole team.”

Cooke also believes Great Britain will have home advantage on the 140km course which starts and finishes on The Mall with two circuits including the infamous Box Hill in Surrey.

“The selectors have chosen the best riders for the course in London, which is predominately a flat one,” added Cooke.

“We have been regularly practising on the course, which is a great advantage, as is having the home crowd behind us.

“It’s a very special Olympics, being in London.

“It is a tough race ahead of us and everyone raises their game for the Olympics.”

Just as Cooke did so spectacularly four years ago. Emulating this tomorrow is unlikely, but let’s hope the Welsh wonder proves her critics wrong.

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